By Rusty Bradshaw

Independent Newsmedia

A man is patrolling the raised median on the south side of the intersection of Grand and 107th avenues in Sun City.

With traffic flowing briskly in the eastbound lanes of Grand Avenue, a small SUV stops in the No. 3 Grand Avenue lane next to the median just outside the intersection. The driver talks to the panhandler for a few minutes, then gets out and goes to the back of the vehicle, opens the hatchback and gives the panhandler something. They talk for a few more minutes before the driver gets back in her vehicle and drives away.

A panhandler tries to get donations from drivers at the intersection of Bell Road and Loop 101. Street beggars in the raised medians of busy Northwest Valley roadways is raising safety concerns.

All the while, eastbound drivers in the No. 3 lane on Grand Avenue must adjust into the No. 2 lane to avoid the stopped vehicle, some honking as they go by. Then the southbound 107th Avenue left-turn signal goes on and drivers making the turn must jump to the no. 2 lane to avoid the stopped SUV.

At the intersection of Bell Road and Loop 101, panhandlers are often times on the medians on both sides of the freeway overpass. At times there are panhandlers on all four raised medians at the intersection of Bell Road and 83rd Avenue. Panhandlers have also been spotted on the raised medians at the intersections of Bell and Reems Road in Surprise and Grand Avenue and Meeker Boulevard in Sun City West.

While panhandling was determined to be a protected First Amendment right, residents and officials are becoming more concerned about the safety issues involved on the raised medians of high volume roadways. Sun City Home Owners Association officials believe municipalities and the county should write ordinances to keep panhandlers off the raised medians. Jim Powell, SCHOA Roads and Safety Committee chairman believes this can be done without denying people their First Amendment rights.

“This is a real safety hazard, with the possibility of people getting hit by vehicles,” he said during a meeting last month. “And there is one guy who is always at the Grand and 107th intersection that gets quite vocal and maybe even violent with people if they don’t give him anything.”

Mr. Powell believes the panhandlers on the medians can also distract drivers trying to read their signs, trying not to clip the panhandler accidently or trying to avoid a confrontation.

In fact, some Valley cities have already taken action with ordinances. Pheonix was the first in 2014 with its ordinance 36-128 that prohibits people from being on any raised median unless they are in a crosswalk waiting for traffic to clear.

“Our cities and the county should be looking to see how that has gone for Phoenix, whether it has had any challenges through the courts,” Mr. Powell said.

Surprise officials also added to their traffic ordinances to address the issue, according to Diane Arthur, Surprise public information officer.

“The city of Surprise has an ordinance which prohibits a person from stopping on a painted or raised traffic island or median, except to wait to safely cross the roadway,” she stated in an email.

The Surprise ordinance is similar to the one created by Phoenix officials. However, the ordinance is designed only to preempt safety issues, not to eliminate panhandling in the city, according to Ms. Arthur.

“The city would not be able to pass any ordinance prohibiting (panhandling) activity,” she stated.

Ms. Arthur added city officials are not aware of any injuries related to panhandlers on medians.

Maricopa County officials have not had any discussion on additional ordinances addressing raised medians, according to Scott Isham, District 4 Supervisor Clint Hickman’s chief of staff.

“Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has done a pretty good job of going out if there is an issue on the corners,” he said.

While Grand Avenue goes through Sun City, Surprise and skirts Sun City West, it is not within county jurisdiction, according to Mr. Isham.

“On Grand it’s a DPS issue for those medians,” he said.

Glendale officials at this time have had no discussions about removing street beggars from medians or restricting their access to medians, according to Scott Waite, Glendale Police Department public information sergeant.

“While being in a median does bring a level of safety concerns, we would encourage them to exercise their rights with due regard and safety in mind,” he stated in an email.

Peoria officials and District 21 Sen. Debbie Lesko (R-Peoria) did not respond by press time to Independent’s request for comment on the matter.

While no other Northwest Valley entity has ordinances to address people in the raised or painted medians, cities across the country are beginning to, according to Mr. Powell. He shared information about such ordinances in Long Beach (September 2017), Sacramento, Yuba City, Citrus Heights, Laguna Woods, Merced and Santa Cruz (2010-2014), all in California; Colorado Springs, Colorado (2017); Madison, Wisconsin (2017); Omaha, Nebraska (2017); and Houston, Texas (2017).

“This is not just an issue for us, it’s an issue all over the country,” Mr. Powell said.

Some municipal officials encourage residents to make their donations to more established charities.

“The city encourages residents to donate directly to their charities of choice, in lieu of handing out money to people they encounter on the street,” Ms. Arthur said. “That way people that need support can connect with the agencies that can help them through a variety of means, including access to food, job skills and housing.”

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